Dumping car



Sept. 20, 1949. A. w. LANCASTER DUMPING CAR 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Nov. 23, 1945 INVENI'OR AMI. LANCASTER fwlmtzbu i a 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 23, 1945- QNVENTOR AW. LANfiASTER.

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- on which the car travels.

the even lifting of the door under these particular 7 operation at the proper time as the car passes the dumping point. In the present instance, centrally of the doors towards the lower edge thereof a wheel member 2| is rotatably fastened on a suitable stub shaft and projects laterally from the doors to an extent designed to engage the inclined guideway of a ramp positioned beside the tracks In order to provide for conditions, according to the present invention, the link'structure from which the doors are pivotally hung is controlled so that each link unit disposed at'opposite ends of thecar must operate with the other. This is accomplished by mounting, on the shafts 22 which extend throughout the length of the car underneath the base plates I2, the levers 23 which are keyed to the shafts at each end of the car and are designed to connect with the vertically disposed link member 24 in each instance. The link members 24 in turn are pivotally connected as at 25 to the links [4. Thus, when each door is raised it is obvious that their motion at each end must be identical by reason of the fact that the shafts t8 and I9 extend throughout the length of the door, that the shafts 22 extend throughout the length of the car, andthat the levers 23 and links 24 operatively connect the shafts to control the even lifting of the door. The shafts l8 and I9, particularly, perform the function of reinforcing the doors in the lifting operation so'that any tendency towards warping or distortion of the doors is restrained.

The alternative form of structure shown in Fig. 3' operates in the same manner, In this construction, the doors 26 and 21 are swingably mounted by means of the pairs of links 28 and 29 disposed at each end of the car, the links 28 being shorter than the links 29 to provide for outward swinging of the lower edge of the doors to a greater degree as previously described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2 These are pivoted as at 30 and 3| on the ends of the car at spaced apart points vertically aligned with one another. The links 28 are designed to be keyed to the longitudinally extending shafts through the upper 'end of each door and extend ing the length of the door as in the case of the shafts H3 in Figs. 1 and 2. The links 29 are pivoted to the doors as at 33 either by such a longitudinally extending shaft or by straight 50 hooblike element pivotal connection, it being preferable to employ the latter where the percussive contact of ore and the like with the lower portion of the door would tend to jam the longitudinally extending shaft when disposed on the inside. The shaft connection 32 and/or'a lower corresponding shaft when employed forms a means for causing the uniform lifting of each end of the door when it is caused to swing upwardly, thus providing for even lifting of the door throughout its length.

In Fig. 3 I show a preferred form of cooperating door lifting mechanism which embodies the pneumatic lifting cylinders C and the cooperating control cylinder D which controls the swinging V 4 It is not necessary to disclose the pneumatic operating system since such a system is well-known,

it being sufficient to say that one operating control will cause the raising or lowering of the pistons in cylinders C while another operating control, conveniently positioned, may be operated to cause the piston in cylinder D to raise and lower its piston rod 31. I The cylinders C and D are suspended from a suitable suspension rod or the like 38 by means of a suitable clevis such as the clevises 39 and 40 which pivotally connect with the protruding lugs 4| and 42 by means of the transverse wrist pins 43 and '44. Thus, it is clear that the cylinders may swing in an arc longitudinally of the direction of the car and in an arc transversely of the car.

When'the car reaches dumpin position and is disposed'between the downwardly hanging piston rods 34 and the cylinders C, the latter are disposed in a lowered position below the door lifting projections '36 andby operating the manual control for the cylinder D, the piston rod thereof is raised. By means of the link connections 45 pivotally connected with the lower end of the piston rod'3'! at one end and at their opposite ends with the lower ends of the cylinders C, the latter are caused to swing inwardly, as generally indicated in dotted lines, so that the hook-like members 35 are brought into engagement with openings thus exposed. In this action the doors 32 disposed 45 The lifting projections take the form, as par- 7 ticularly illustrated in Fig. 4, wherein the lifting bar or shoulder 46 is upwardly sloped inwardly from its ends to a maximum height 41 at the center of the projection. This forms a guide means for centering the hook-like elements of the piston rod 34 since it is apparent that if the s engagethe projection to one side or'the other of the center, the guide slope of the projections will cause the'hook-likemembers to center in theprojections. Moreover, the swingin movement of the cylinders Cand cylinderDfin the. longitudinal direction of the car will permit ready centering as well as a clean engagement or disengagement with the door lifting projections where the car is slightly in motion during the commencement of the engagement between the hook-like members 35 and the door lifting means or the disengagement of these members from the door lifting means.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I movement of the lifting means The lifting 5 have provided a simple type of door construction inders C include the piston rods 34 projecting downwardly therefrom and terminating in the hook-like members 35. These latter are designed to engage the door lifting projections 36 carried and door operating mechanism through which ready discharge of the contents of the cars is eiTected,'while eliminating any tendencies of the doors to jam or distort and providing for the at. the center of each door, the specific structure ready engagement or disengagement of the door of the projections being defined hereinafter.

The lifting cylinders C and the control cylinder Dare operated from separate manual controls (not shown) positioned at the dumping station lifting means in a practical manner.

What I claim as my invention is. In a dump car having a fixed body with at least one openv side, the combination of, a sloping base where the lifting mechanism. is also disposed. 75. plate in the body sloping toward the lower outer edge of the open side thereof, a door upwardly and outwardly swingable to uncover the open side, a pair of spaced apart arms extending from individual pivotal connections at each end of the body for pivotal connection to the ends of said door substantially at the upper and lower extremities thereof, a through shaft extending longitudinally of the bedy below said base plate, a crank arm extending from either end of said shaft on the exterior of the body, and a link pivotally connected to the free end of each crank arm and having its other end pivotally connected between the ends of one of the spaced apart arms at each end of the body, said crank arms being fixed to said shaft to provide operative connection between the spaced apart arms from one end of the body to the other.

ARTHUR WESLEY LANCASTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

